The favorites in their respective match ups like Indiana, San Antonio increased their advantages. Oklahoma even managed to close out their opponents and the Los Angeles Clippers took the lead as well.
There were some great performances that rightfully caught the attention. Who ranks at the top? Without any further ado, let's start.
10. Tim Duncan
Timmy was active on offense, as he made his shots and included his team mates well. He wasn't as great on the glass as in the previous games, but defensively he was excellent. He blocked three shots and had a steal.
Duncan scored 17 points, grabbed six boards, dished out three assists, got a steal, swatted three shots, shot 7-15 from the field, 3-4 at the line and committed a turnover.
He'll need to come up strong again in the next game in order to sweep the Jazz.
9. Al Jefferson
Al was excellent offensively. He got solid positions in the paint and made the most of his looks. Also, he was terrific on the glass and solid in protecting the paint on defense.
Jefferson scored 21 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, dished out two assists, blocked a shot, shot 10-18 from the field and 1-2 from the line in 38 minutes of action.
Despite the loss, Big Al had his statistically most impressive game of the playoffs. He and his Jazz will try to defend their honors in the next game, as they'll battle not to get swept.
8. Jason Richardson
Jason found his stroke, as he connected on half of his attempts and was solid from an all-around point of the view. The stats prove that this was actually his best performance so far.
Richardson scored 25 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out an assist, recorded two steals, blocked one attempt, shot 9-18 from the field, 4-12 from deep and 3-4 at the stripe.
Despite the tough fight he and his Magic showed, it wasn't enough as they failed to the visiting Pacers. Now, they're in a must win situation as they face an elimination game.
7. David West
His team went through him in the post and Orlando couldn't find an answer for him. David made his attempts in there. When he was double teamed, he'd kick out to the open man for a nice shot.
The stats prove that. West scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, shot 11-23 from the field, 4-5 from the stripe while committing five turnovers in 47 minutes of action.
He proved his value to the team, especially with this performance and the impact he had in the game. David additionally showed nice leadership as well and now his Pacers have a chance to end their opponents.
6. Glen Davis
Glen's emotions, toughness and hard play have all been of great value for his Orlando. He played in such a mode yesterday and had beyond nice production.
Davis scored 24 points, pulled down 11 boards, recorded an assist, a steal, shot 10-18 from the field, 4-5 from the line in 41 minutes of action.
He's elevated his game to another level and his overall stats show that. He's defended Hibbert and West in the post well.
Despite his team tough loses, he's something the Magic fans will want to continue to cheer for.
5. Kevin Durant
Kevin, like in the previous game, had an efficient day from the field. He found his stroke, was outstanding on the glass, involved his team mates, played solid defense and was terrific overall.
Durant scored 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out four assists, blocked two shots, committed five turnovers, shot 9-18 from the field, 2-8 from deep and 4-5 from the stripe in 40 minutes of action.
He established as a presence in almost every aspect of the court in the game. Kevin overall has been beyond great in the series and now will focus on the next opponent.
4. Dirk Nowitzki
It's not the first time that he has felt this side of the game. Dirk had an excellent performance in this important match up and displayed his skills well. However, he didn't connect on his shots late and with that he blew every hope that the Mavericks had.
Nonetheless, Nowitzki statistically played beyond his normal. He scored 35 points, grabbed five rebounds, had four assists, dished out four assists, recorded a steal, shot 10-25 from the field, 1-1 from deep and 13-13 from the line.
Big Dirk had an excellent series for an individual when everything is taken in consideration. However, one player even if he's a superstar, hardly can replace a production and presence of peaces that are missing.
3. Chris Paul
Chris was making the easy plays for his team mates, scoring the ball, was active on defense, got to the line and led his team late in the match.
The stats show his overall excellence in the game. Paul scored 24 points, dished out 11 dimes, grabbed four rebounds, recorded four steals, committed three turnovers, shot 8-19 from the field, 1-3 from deep and 7-8 from the line.
CP3 showed great leadership that you'd want from your point guard. He'll have to continue to come up big for his Clippers to win the series.
2. Tony Parker
Tony scored ton of points again, found the open man and was absolutely brilliant in the final period. He shut down every hope for the Jazz fans for their team to win the game, as he was literally unstoppable.
Parker poured in 26 points, dished out seven dimes, pulled down three boards, shot 10-17 from the field, 7-8 from the stripe, committed five turnovers in 40 minutes.
Statistically that's a nice game. However, here's even a better stat. He scored 16 points in the last period, a thing only James has done in the playoffs so far.
Despite that, he still hasn't got enough credit, something that he deserves not just for this but for the overall performances he's been having so far.
1. James Harden
He made up for his Westbrook's awful day. In fact, he did more than that. James scored in bunches, found his team mates and displayed his skills quite well.
The stats show his excellence. He scored 29 points, grabbed five boards, had five assists, recorded three steals, blocked an attempt, shot 11-16 from the field, 3-4 from deep and 4-5 from the stripe with two turnovers.
The statistics also point out that Harden had a career night. He also explored Dallas' weakness, that's a lack of a shot blocker, got to the rim freely and closed them out late as well.
The Thunder will need similar performance from him in order to win.
Darko Mihajlovski is a columnist at FootBasket. He also contributes to Hoops-Nation. You can read more about him at our Staff page.
